[down south fire]

usually everything works fine, but every now and then only the subs will work and i get no music. all i can hear is the subs going, and at other times it reverses. i'll get all music and no subs. guys ever hear of this, problem with the wiring? maybe something is loose? any help would be appreciated. thanks

 

[Howie]

amp for the highs over heats and shuts off. Do you have another amp for your regular speakers?

 

[down south fire]

yeah, i have 2 amps. thats weird... cuz when it happens i turn everything off wait a few mins and then everythings fine

 

[Howie]

yeah your 2nd amp gets hot and shuts itself off. then when it cools, it cuts back on. TIME FOR A NEW AMP

 

[Howie]

the other possibility would be that you drain the power from the alt too much that one would clipp off and on, but I doubt that since it cuts on after a few minutes

 

[down south fire]

yeah, it seems to only happen when i have the music really loud.

 

[Howie]

thats your problem then.

 

[Howie]

hope you have warranty on that 2nd amp

 

[RScott]

look into a cap and distro block if thats the case...
do your headlights dim alot?
also, where are the amps located?
lack heat transfer due to a not so well thought out install can kill your amp real quick

 

[brianb]

How about mounting a set of fans?


Brian

 

[RScott]

thats a good idea too...
computer fans run on 12V dc i believe if you have trouble finding something that will work
i had plans to try it out but never got around to it

 

[Howie]

fans is an idea but not always effective. you can try that for starters but in the end you'll just have the same problem and wind up at point a again

 

[RScott]

yea...if overheating is a problem...it may be that your amp is about to go or you just bought a truly inefficient amp.
also, if the problem is with the electrical system, have your alternator checked out. Not until i had my system in and my car almost die on me that i found out that the output from my alternator was ridiculously low...
~2.4amps output max under load..
an autozone will test it for you for free

 

[down south fire]

no, headlights dont dim.

i dont think the amp is inefficient. i've had it for almost 2 years. the amps are flush mounted the back back seat and hidden by the sub box.

 

[down south fire]

u can kind of see the left amp sticking out a little. just the top corner of it. i dont have a warranty on the amps, but the guy who did it is a good friend and he'll fix it for free or give a new amp for very cheap if the problem is the amp

 

[RScott]

if it has just started this problem then the amps may be going out
next time it goes out feel the amp to see if the heatsinks are real hot.

 

[down south fire]

where are those?

 

[Howie]

just feel the top of the amp. I say fold down your seat and see if you have the same problem. It looks like the box is not allowing the amp to get propper ventilation and being mounted to the back of the seat aint helpin either. If you realy need the sound sometime, fold the seat down that way the amp will be layin flat and getting propper ventilation.

 

[RScott]

when i dont have any passengers thats usually how i have my car...back seat folded down
i think it looks kinda cool too ;-)

amp design, however, is made for best cooling with the amp being vertical, 2nd horizontal and worst upside tilted forward to completely upside down. This may be where the mounting on the rear of the seat played a part(as well as no moving air through due to the box right in front of it) but if you can get air moving across the heatsink then it should be fine
the heat sink is the surface of the amp...metal...usually has fins for max surface area

 

[down south fire]

ok ill try a few things... if not gonna take it back to my guy